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1842–1914

TO MY LAUNDRESS.

Ambrose Bierce

Saponacea, wert thou not so fair I'd curse thee for thy multitude of sins — For sending home my clothes all full of pins — A shirt occasionally that's a snare

And a delusion, got, the Lord knows where, The Lord knows why — a sock whose outs and ins None know, nor where it ends nor where begins, And fewer cuffs than ought to be my share.

But when I mark thy lilies how they grow, And the red roses of thy ripening charms, I bless the lovelight in thy dark eyes dreaming. I'll never pay thee, but I'd gladly go

Into the magic circle of thine arms, Supple and fragrant from repeated steaming.

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TO MY LAUNDRESS. · Ambrose Bierce · Poetry Cove